A motorist fills up Friday in Montpelier, Vt. The average price for regular gas across the nation dropped 17 cents in September. Vermont prices are typically higher than the national average, which was $3.44 per gallon at the end of last week.

Gasoline prices have fallen steadily throughout September, and drivers should look forward to even cheaper fill-ups in the weeks ahead.

The national average price for a gallon of gasoline is now $3.44, down from $3.59 on Sept. 1. The price is the lowest itís been at this time of year since 2010 and is likely to keep falling.

Meanwhile, Vermontís average gas price at the end of last week was $3.63, with many stations selling in the $3.40s in the southern part of the state, according to VermontGasPrices.com.

Wholesale gasoline prices have fallen faster in recent days than pump prices, so drivers can expect to pay even less as the pump prices catch up.

Gas prices tend to fall soon after Labor Day, but last year they didnít start dropping until mid-October. There are a few reasons for this fallís decline in price, experts say:

Refiners can switch to cheaper blends of gasoline in the winter months as clean-air rules are relaxed.

Demand for gas declines in the fall after the summer driving season ends.

At the same time, supplies rise because refiners are still making gasoline as they keep operations humming to make heating oil for winter and diesel and jet fuel for shippers.

Refineries have been relatively problem-free compared with last year. No hurricanes, and few unexpected problems at refineries or pipelines.

Even relatively high oil prices havenít stopped gasolineís decline.

Oil briefly topped $112 in August as a U.S. threat of military action against Syria made the market nervous about supplies. Oil has fallen from those highs but stayed above $100 per barrel, yet gasoline has fallen to its lowest price since Jan. 31.